This invention relates to apple trees and, more specifically, to an apple tree referred to as a strain, or bud mutation, of Malus domestica Borkh. ‘Honeycrisp’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,197).
I discovered this new and unique strain of apple tree as a whole tree mutation in a cultivated area near Milton, N.Y. The tree of this invention produces a fruit of attractive commercial value, with significantly earlier and brighter red color than the parent (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,197). Fruit red color development is seven days earlier than ‘Honeycrisp’; however parent and new strain maturity development are similar. At harvest, percent red color is 90 to 98 percent compared to 60 to 70 percent on ‘Honeycrisp’, and skin finish is smoother.
This new strain of apple tree was asexually reproduced by grafting near Aspers, Pa., and such reproduction has shown this new strain to come true in two successive generations. This propagation of the new strain by grafting under standard controlled conditions clearly discloses the continued maintenance of the characteristics described herein which distinguish this new strain from the parent cultivar.